Love is a Gamble
by Xeno-man
Summary: Kei X Motoko Keitaro's life has been thrown into darkness, can a simple bet bring him back?The Loss of Naru has been extremely hard on Keitaro and a bet might be the only thing to hold him to Hinatasou
1. Certain Things are Guaranteed

Xeno: After a Long recess from writing I've decided to come back. I do not own this Characters as they belong to Ken Akamatsu.. I'm also sorry to those who wished to read my other Love Hina Fic as my computer was necessarily reformatted and I, discouraged stopped writing having lost my works.

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Chapter 1: Certain Things are Guaranteed

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"Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules"

-Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

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A young Long black-haired maiden awoke from her slumber, sweating heavily. "Turtles…", She silently mouthed. Her eyes shifted to a

nearby picture frame, it's occupants look overjoyed but the picture feels as if it is missing something. Anyone could tell it. The Raven haired

woman arose from her futon. "That bet will stand…" Her watch read 11-10-03, A gift from her own flame, which is a tad unrequited. It is

a men's watch that was well worn and used. A faint smile grew on her face as she looked at the watch, it's her last birthday present from

Him.

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A young man sat offside a sandbox in a small playground in the rain. His heart cried out in agony. His brown hair was soaked and his

glasses were smashed into the short wooden wall of the sandbox. A small picture book was in his left hand, while his head was lifted to the

sky. Rain showered upon his lost soul. "Not again…" He pulled his book in his chest and gripped onto it as hard as he could. "Never

again…" His watch read 11-14-00, and his world was about to end. His Vision blurred. He passed out as he heard the enclosing clacking

of footsteps.

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He awakened that night, his face wet with tears. His vision slowly cleared as he felt a serene calm come over him, A soft warm feeling

comforted him. "Naru… I loved you." He turned his head to the far corner of his room. Where he carved his First love note to her. It

reads "I'm not much but I offer what I am, I love you Naru. -Keitaro" He wiped his tears away trying to keep some composure. The

Warmth near his heart slowly faded. "Don't go…" Exhaustion overtook him, and he fell into a slumber.

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Keitaro arose the next morning in a gloom. His head, hung low in sadness. Sluggishly he got ready for the day, unwilling to continue on.

Yet, he was forced through the flow of time. "Keitaro?" A soft feminine voice echoed in the stale air of the room. "Breakfast is ready…

…. Can you come out with me shopping, later?" Her blue hair shifted as she asked her question with her feelings mixed. "I love him… but

is it right to take him after Naru died?" She thought to herself. A Half hearted reply came, "Sure, I'll go with you Shinobu." A smile slowly

lit up her face, "…See you at breakfast." The blue-haired middle schooler fled to her culinary domain happy with her new achievement but

still upset at the loss of her friend. Keitaro's "Lucky" shirt was still damp from the day before, so he put on a black button down.

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He entered the dining room ,everyone quieted down as he entered the room. Mei, ran over to Keitaro and said, "I'm Sorry." He replied

softly, "I am too.", and she hurried out of the room to catch her train back home. The room started up with its normal conversation and

wildness as it always did before but Keitaro remained quiet as he ate, and so did the raven-haired samurai girl. Suddenly she stood,

"Thank you for the meal." She said, and quickly ran off to her upper deck haven.

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"I have an announcement… I will be resigning as the Manager of Hinata-sou" Keitaro stated firmly.

"I'm not fit to be the manager as of now." Silence hit the whole room. "Why?" "Please stay." "Keitaro please don't go." The room was in

a uproar they didn't want to see their beloved manager go. "I need time…" Keitaro said. As he finished his meal he got up and left, to tell

Motoko.

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As he reached the steps he saw her repeating exercises, training, and conditioning herself for any given situation. He silently stepped

forward, effortlessly, as if he were a shadow. "Motoko-chan." She jumped in surprise she stabbed behind her in reaction. She stopped her

swift blade on the cheek of Keitaro, he was unfazed by this, like he wanted to die. "I'm, I'm sorry." she pulled her blade back and bowed

in forgiveness. She blushed from embarrassment of being caught off guard. It was something she was never use to. "It's alright, … I

wanted to tell you that I'm resigning from being the manager and I plan on leaving overseas." He felt terrible about telling her this. He felt so

much closer to her since they were almost married. Motoko was speechless, she couldn't find the courage to say anything.

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Keitaro turned his back and started for the stairs. "No not like this… please don't go… please stay with me." she thought, "It's now or

never I have to." She opened her mouth to say something. "I.. I… know you lost Naru, but…" She was tripping over her own words. "I

have to say, something!" She thought as she paniced. "I bet you… that you would find love again." He turned back around, his eyes were

watering. "Motoko-chan… What would you bet?" his voice trailed off into the silence, he walked over closer to her. "I've lost everything!

What would make me stay?" He yelled, his loss started to become despair. "I'd… take you out to where ever you wanted." He calmed

down a bit, it seemed to ease his mind that someone really tried to get him to stay. "I'll consider it…" he said. "But on one condition.", She

blurted out. "You must train in the sword with me, It would be good. For.. Your .. Health…". Her face became red like an apple. She hid

her face behind her hair. He continued to walk down to the stairs. "I will…"

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Xeno: I hope you enjoyed my work. Please tell me what you think.


	2. Starting Again

Xeno-man: I'm sorry about the extremely long delay in its release.

I do not own Love Hina and all rights belong to Ken Akamatsu

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Desolation- Case #1

She was Crushed by her defeat, Her sister left her a wasteland. She was shadow of her former self. Her sword shattered, her former life style scattered. There was naught left for her. The next day her new life started. A life of a "woman", of one kind or another. She left the sword behind and her former hopes were gone. She was an empty shell.

Her attempt at being a "Woman" failed. Her maid's outfit ruined and soaked by mud and rain. She wallowed in her failure, wandering the rainy streets. She fell into a muddy puddle ruining her clothes. A man reached out his hand to her. His glasses covered with rain water, "I'll Take you in."

Desolation- Case #2

He saw her lovely smile from across the street. Her long brown hair blew in the wind. He walked across the street to meet her. His smile grew with happy anticipation as he walked with her down the street. "Hey, it'll be faster to get to the train through here." She said while pulling him down the alley. Darkness began to set it... It was twilight.

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Keitaro grabbed his wallet as he ran out to meet Shinobu for their shopping excursion. His glasses had been broken since yesterday. Thusly Su took the liberty of making him a pair of contacts in an attempt to get him to stay. "Hey, Shinobu!" Keitaro called as Shinobu waved to him. "The train is gonna leave soon! Hurry up!" Shinobu ran with him to the train station struggling to keep up. Motoko called out to Shinobu, "Don't forget to take him there!"

The train was crowded, shoulder to shoulder, just like every other day. On the train to Tokyo city. The two pushed their way into the crowded car. The usual business crowd was heading out to work. Another stop came aboard packing the train even tighter. Keitaro moved himself in front of Shinobu to keep the serial gropers away from her. 'You never know what kind of sick-o is on the train.' he thought. The Train began to slow for another stop. The few more people crammed into the train car shoving Keitaro into Shinobu. "Owww!." Shinobu said, as her head hit the window. Keitaro bowed his head a little bit, "I'm sorry. Are you alright?" The train reached the Tokyo business district and most of the train disembarked, Shinobu and Keitaro with them.

Shinobu grabbed onto Keitaro's hand, "Come on, let's go!" she said. They headed down the block toward the main commercial district. They ventured from shop to shop, Shinobu picked out some new clothes and some groceries for the Apartments. Hours had passed along with a lot of window shopping.

An old wrinkled hand grasped onto Keitaro's shoulder, "You, theres something different about you.", an old grandma-esque voice said. Keitaro turned just about to brush off that grasping hand. "Grandma?! What are you doing here?" 'Grandma Hina... it had been so long since her last visit, too long.' She chuckled a bit and took a breathe. "Keitaro, it is good to see you… I came back as soon as I heard about Naru from Haruka." She gave him a pat on his shoulder. "I'll see you back at Hinata-sou… I must be going." Grandma Hina walked away, off into the crowd.

Keitaro's heart ached at the mere mention of Naru's name. "Come on, Shinobu… Lets go…" His voice trailed off. The two walked on just a bit more, in an awkward silence. "Keitaro, look there it is!" She held his hand and gave him slight tug. "Come on!", she encouraged. He sluggishly responded. They continued over to a store, it had no sign and its windows were painted black, as if it was closed down or condemned. Shinobu hesitantly knocked a few times, just waiting long enough to hear a latch clank.

The door slid open, and the two felt almost pulled inside. "Gahh!" Keitaro squealed, as he was dragged, kicking and screaming, by a group of men in blue suits. They pulled and tugged on him. Finally they just dropped him on the ground. "Ara ara!?" 'What the hell?' He quickly gained his bearings and he noticed a pen left behind on a pad. With his further inspection he noticed his measurements on them. 'This is what Motoko wanted? What could she possibly want to fit me for in this place?' he thought. Soon his thoughts turned to fantasizing, dreaming of what she could possibly be trying to get him into, Leather? Chains? Cuffs? If she asked Shinobu here then that could mean... His mind ventured further while Shinobu stared at him curiously. A streak of drool ran down his chin. "Keitaro? Are you okay?" Keitaro snapped out of his dream world. "I'm sorry, I guess… I was dreaming." She extended her hand to him.

He took her small hand into his, and helped himself up. "Thank you." He bowed his head to her. A light knock aroused their attention. "Sir, your clothing is ready." a bowed figure stood just a few feet away from them. His hands motioned to the left through a low overhang. Keitaro and Shinobu headed for the doorway. The room was well lit and cozy, almost like sitting in Hinata-sou's hot springs... almost. A small gift wrapped box was left on an ebon table. A azure gift tag was left on top of the package.

Motoko's handwriting adorns tag. "For Keitaro,"

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Xeno: I'm sorry this isn't very good. I took a 2 year-ish break from writing which I really wish I had not taken. My writing has deteriorated a bit but I'm making a definite comeback to writing.


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